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 Brief Contents
Preface xix

Part I The Context of Database Management 1

Chapter 1 The Database Environment and Development Process 2

Part II Database Analysis 43

Chapter 2 Modeling Data in the Organization 45
Chapter 3 The Enhanced E-R Model 93

Part III Database Design 119

Chapter 4 Logical Database Design and the Relational Model 121
Chapter 5 Physical Database Design and Performance 166

Part IV Implementation 189

Chapter 6 Introduction to SQL 191
Chapter 7 Advanced SQL 232
Chapter 8 Database Application Development 268
Chapter 9 Data Warehousing 300

Glossary of Acronyms 353

Glossary of Terms 355
Index 361

vii
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 Contents

Preface xix

Part I The Context of Database Management 1

An Overview of Part One 1

Chapter 1 The Database Environment and Development Process 2

Learning Objectives 2
Introduction 2
Basic Concepts and Definitions 4
Data 4
Data Versus Information 5
Metadata 6
Traditional File Processing Systems 7
Disadvantages of File Processing Systems 7
Program-Data Dependence 7
Duplication of Data 8
Limited Data Sharing 8
Lengthy Development Times 8
Excessive Program Maintenance 8
The Database Approach 8
Data Models 8
Entities 8
Relationships 9
Relational Databases 10
Database Management Systems 10
Advantages of the Database Approach 11
Program-Data Independence 11
Planned Data Redundancy 11
Improved Data Consistency 11
Improved Data Sharing 11
Increased Productivity of Application Development 12
Enforcement of Standards 12
Improved Data Quality 12
Improved Data Accessibility and Responsiveness 13
Reduced Program Maintenance 13
Improved Decision Support 13
Cautions About Database Benefits 13
Costs and Risks of the Database Approach 13
New, Specialized Personnel 14
Installation and Management Cost and Complexity 14
Conversion Costs 14
Need for Explicit Backup and Recovery 14
Organizational Conflict 14
Components of the Database Environment 14
The Database Development Process 16

ix
x Contents

Systems Development Life Cycle 17

Planning—Enterprise Modeling 18
Planning—Conceptual Data Modeling 18
Analysis—Conceptual Data Modeling 18
Design—Logical Database Design 18
Design—Physical Database Design and Definition 19
Implementation—Database Implementation 19
Maintenance—Database Maintenance 19
Alternative Information Systems (IS) Development Approaches 20
Three-Schema Architecture for Database Development 21
Evolution of Database Systems 22
The Range of Database Applications 24
Personal Databases 25
Two-Tier Client/Server Databases 25
Multitier Client/Server Databases 26
Enterprise Applications 26
Developing a Database Application for Pine Valley Furniture
Company 28
Database Evolution at Pine Valley Furniture Company 29
Project Planning 30
Analyzing Database Requirements 30
Designing the Database 32
Using the Database 35
Administering the Database 36
Future of Databases at Pine Valley 36
Summary 37 • Key Terms 38 • Review Questions 38 •
Problems and Exercises 39 • ­References 40 • Further
Reading 40 • Web Resources 41

Part II Database Analysis 43

An Overview of Part Two 43

Chapter 2 Modeling Data in the Organization 45

Learning Objectives 45
Introduction 45
The E-R Model: An Overview 47
Sample E-R Diagram 47
E-R Model Notation 49
Modeling the Rules of the Organization 50
Data Names and Definitions 50
Data Names 51
Data Definitions 51
Good Data Definitions 51
Modeling Entities and Attributes 53
Entities 53
Entity Type Versus Entity Instance 53
Entity Type Versus System Input, Output, or User 54
Strong Versus Weak Entity Types 55
Naming and Defining Entity Types 55
 Contents xi

Attributes 57
Required Versus Optional Attributes 57
Simple Versus Composite Attributes 58
Single-Valued Versus Multivalued Attributes 59
Stored Versus Derived Attributes 59
Identifier Attribute 59
Naming and Defining Attributes 61
Modeling Relationships 62
Basic Concepts and Definitions in Relationships 63
Attributes on Relationships 63
Associative Entities 65
Degree of a Relationship 66
Unary Relationship 67
Binary Relationship 67
Ternary Relationship 68
Attributes or Entity? 69
Cardinality Constraints 71
Minimum Cardinality 71
Maximum Cardinality 72
Some Examples of Relationships and Their Cardinalities 72
A Ternary Relationship 73
Modeling Time-Dependent Data 74
Modeling Multiple Relationships Between Entity Types 75
Naming and Defining Relationships 76
E-R Modeling Example: Pine Valley Furniture Company 78
Database Processing at Pine Valley Furniture 80
Showing Product Information 81
Showing Product Line Information 81
Showing Customer Order Status 82
Summary 83 • Key Terms 84 • Review Questions 84 •
Problems and Exercises 85 • References 92 • Further
Reading 92 • Web Resources 92

Chapter 3 The Enhanced E-R Model 93

Learning Objectives 93
Introduction 93
Representing Supertypes and Subtypes 94
Basic Concepts and Notation 94
An Example of a Supertype/Subtype Relationship 95
Attribute Inheritance 96
When to Use Supertype/Subtype Relationships 97
Representing Specialization and Generalization 97
Generalization 98
Specialization 99
Combining Specialization and Generalization 100
Specifying Constraints in Supertype/Subtype Relationships 100
Specifying Completeness Constraints 101
Total Specialization Rule 101
Partial Specialization Rule 101
xii Contents

Specifying Disjointness Constraints 101

Disjoint Rule 102
Overlap Rule 102
Defining Subtype Discriminators 102
Disjoint Subtypes 103
Overlapping Subtypes 103
Defining Supertype/Subtype Hierarchies 105
An Example of a Supertype/Subtype Hierarchy 105
Summary of Supertype/Subtype Hierarchies 106
EER Modeling Example: Pine Valley Furniture Company 106
Packaged Data Models 110
A Revised Data Modeling Process with Packaged Data Models 110
Summary of Prepackaged Data Models 112
Summary 112 • Key Terms 113 • Review Questions 113 •
Problems and Exercises 114 • References 116 • Further
Reading 117 • Web Resources 117

Part III Database Design 119

An Overview of Part Three 119

Chapter 4 Logical Database Design and the Relational Model 121

Learning Objectives 121
Introduction 121
The Relational Data Model 122
Basic Definitions 122
Relational Data Structure 123
Relational Keys 123
Properties of Relations 124
Removing Multivalued Attributes from Tables 124
Sample Database 124
Integrity Constraints 126
Domain Constraints 126
Entity Integrity 126
Referential Integrity 128
Creating Relational Tables 129
Well-Structured Relations 130
Transforming EER Diagrams into Relations 131
Step 1: Map Regular Entities 132
Composite Attributes 132
Multivalued Attributes 133
Step 2: Map Weak Entities 133
When to Create a Surrogate Key 134
Step 3: Map Binary Relationships 135
Map Binary One-to-Many Relationships 135
Map Binary Many-to-Many Relationships 135
Map Binary One-to-One Relationships 136
Step 4: Map Associative Entities 137
Identifier Not Assigned 137
Identifier Assigned 138
 Contents xiii

Step 5: Map Unary Relationships 139

Unary One-to-Many Relationships 139
Unary Many-to-Many Relationships 139
Step 6: Map Ternary (and n-ary) Relationships 141
Step 7: Map Supertype/Subtype Relationships 141
Summary of EER-to-Relational Transformations 143
Introduction to Normalization 144
Steps in Normalization 145
Functional Dependencies and Keys 146
Determinants 146
Candidate Keys 146
Normalization Example: Pine Valley Furniture Company 148
Step 0: Represent the View in Tabular Form 148
Step 1: Convert to First Normal Form 149
Remove Repeating Groups 149
Select the Primary Key 149
Anomalies in 1NF 150
Step 2: Convert to Second Normal Form 150
Step 3: Convert to Third Normal Form 151
Removing Transitive Dependencies 152
Determinants and Normalization 152
Merging Relations 153
An Example 154
View Integration Problems 154
Synonyms 154
Homonyms 155
Transitive Dependencies 155
Supertype/Subtype Relationships 156
Summary 156 • Key Terms 157 • Review Questions 157 •
Problems and Exercises 158 • References 165 • Further
Reading 165 • Web Resources 165

Chapter 5 Physical Database Design and Performance 166

Learning Objectives 166
Introduction 166
The Physical Database Design Process 167
Physical Database Design As a Basis for Regulatory Compliance 168
Designing Fields 169
Choosing Data Types 169
Coding Techniques 170
Handling Missing Data 171
Denormalizing Data 171
Denormalization 172
Opportunities For and Types of Denormalization 172
Denormalize With Caution 174
Designing Physical Database Files 175
File Organizations 176
Sequential File Organizations 178
Indexed File Organizations 179
Hashed File Organizations 180
xiv Contents

Designing Controls for Files 182

Using and Selecting Indexes 182
Creating a Unique Key Index 182
Creating a Secondary (Nonunique) Key Index 183
When to Use Indexes 183
Designing a Database for Optimal Query Performance 184
Summary 185 • Key Terms 185 • Review Questions 186 •
Problems and Exercises 186 • References 188 • Further
Reading 188 • Web Resources 188

Part IV Implementation 189

An Overview of Part Four 189

Chapter 6 Introduction to SQL 191

Learning Objectives 191
Introduction 191
Origins of the SQL Standard 192
The SQL Environment 194
Defining a Database in SQL 199
Generating SQL Database Definitions 199
Creating Tables 200
Creating Data Integrity Controls 202
Changing Table Definitions 202
Removing Tables 203
Inserting, Updating, and Deleting Data 203
Deleting Database Contents 205
Updating Database Contents 205
Internal Schema Definition in RDBMSs 205
Creating Indexes 206
Processing Single Tables 207
Clauses of the SELECT Statement 207
Using Expressions 209
Using Functions 210
Using Wildcards 213
Using Comparison Operators 213
Using Null Values 214
Using Boolean Operators 214
Using Ranges for Qualification 216
Using Distinct Values 217
Using IN and NOT IN with Lists 219
Sorting Results: The ORDER BY Clause 219
Categorizing Results: The GROUP BY Clause 220
Qualifying Results by Categories: The HAVING Clause 221
Using and Defining Views 223
Summary 225 • Key Terms 226 • Review Questions 226 •
Problems and Exercises 227 • References 230 • Further
Reading 230 • Web Resources 231
 Contents xv

Chapter 7 Advanced SQL 232

Learning Objectives 232
Introduction 232
Processing Multiple Tables 233
Equi-Join 234
Natural Join 235
Outer Join 236
Sample Join Involving Four Tables 238
Self-Join 239
Subqueries 241
Correlated Subqueries 246
Using Derived Tables 247
Combining Queries 248
Tips for Developing Queries 250
Guidelines for Better Query Design 252
Ensuring Transaction Integrity 253
Data Dictionary Facilities 255
Triggers and Routines 256
Triggers 256
Routines 258
Example Routine in Oracle’s PL/SQL 259
Embedded SQL and Dynamic SQL 261
Summary 262 • Key Terms 263 • Review Questions 263 •
Problems and Exercises 264 • References 267 • Further
Reading 267 • Web Resources 267

Chapter 8 Database Application Development 268

Learning Objectives 268
Introduction 268
Client/Server Architectures 269
Databases in a Two-Tier Architecture 271
A VB.NET Example 272
A Java Example 274
Three-Tier Architectures 275
Web Application Components 278
Databases in Three-Tier Applications 278
A JSP Web Application 279
An ASP.NET Example 282
Key Considerations in Three-Tier Applications 283
Stored Procedures 284
Transactions 285
Database Connections 285
Key Benefits of Three-Tier Applications 285
Cloud Computing and Three-Tier Applications 287
Extensible Markup Language (XML) 288
Storing XML Documents 290
Retrieving XML Documents 290
xvi Contents

Displaying XML Data 293

XML and Web Services 293
Summary 297 • Key Terms 297 • Review Questions 298 •
Problems and Exercises 298 • References 299 • Further
Reading 299 • Web Resources 299

Chapter 9 Data Warehousing 300

Learning Objectives 300
Introduction 300
Basic Concepts of Data Warehousing 302
A Brief History of Data Warehousing 303
The Need for Data Warehousing 303
Need For a Company-Wide View 303
Need to Separate Operational and Informational Systems 306
Data Warehouse Architectures 306
Independent Data Mart Data Warehousing Environment 306
Dependent Data Mart and Operational Data Store Architecture:
A Three-Level Approach 308
Logical Data Mart and Real-Time Data Warehouse Architecture 310
Three-Layer Data Architecture 312
Role of the Enterprise Data Model 313
Role of Metadata 313
Some Characteristics of Data Warehouse Data 314
Status Versus Event Data 314
Transient Versus Periodic Data 315
An Example of Transient and Periodic Data 315
Transient Data 315
Periodic Data 316
Other Data Warehouse Changes 317
The Derived Data Layer 317
Characteristics of Derived Data 318
The Star Schema 318
Fact Tables and Dimension Tables 319
Example Star Schema 320
Surrogate Key 321
Grain of the Fact Table 322
Duration of the Database 322
Size of the Fact Table 323
Modeling Date and Time 324
Multiple Fact Tables 324
Hierarchies 325
Slowly Changing Dimensions 328
Determining Dimensions and Facts 329
Big Data and Columnar Databases 331
If You Knew SQL Like I NoSQL 332
The User Interface 333
Role of Metadata 334
SQL OLAP Querying 334
 Contents xvii

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Tools 335

Slicing a Cube 336
Drill-Down 336
Summarizing More than Three Dimensions 337
Data Visualization 338
Business Performance Management and Dashboards 338
Data-Mining Tools 339
Data-Mining Techniques 340
Data-Mining Applications 340
Data Governance and Data Quality 341
Data Governance 341
Managing Data Quality 342
Characteristics of Quality Data 343
Summary 344 • Key Terms 345 • Review Questions 345 •
Problems and Exercises 346 • References 350 • Further
Reading 351 • Web Resources 351

Glossary of Acronyms 353

Glossary of Terms 355
Index 361
This page intentionally left blank
 Preface

It is our great pleasure to introduce this new text in database management. This book
offers its users conceptually and technically solid content that focuses on the core is-
sues covered in most introductory data and database management courses. We pay
particular attention to providing in-depth coverage of the database development life
cycle that extends from conceptual data modeling using (enhanced) entity-relationship
modeling through relational modeling at the logical level to database implementation
and use with Structured Query Language (SQL). Within this core area, we provide in-
depth coverage that is based on the latest pedagogical and technical developments in
data management.
This new text, Essentials of Database Management, builds on the strong foundation
of Modern Database Management (MDM, currently in its 11th edition) and is designed for
use in introductory courses in database management that do not require the full depth
and breadth of advanced topics offered by MDM. This goal has been achieved without
sacrificing quality or rigor of coverage. Several external factors have contributed to the
need for a more succinct book: Particularly in business schools, information systems pro-
grams have less real estate in the curriculum, which means that all individual topic areas,
including database management, have had to let some of their content go. The percent-
age of non-majors in the introductory database courses has also grown, and for the non-
majors the most advanced technical knowledge in areas outside the core might not be in
the center of their interests. Many integrated curricula have database modules signifi-
cantly shorter than a full semester; this book fits well the needs of these course units, too.
In the marketplace of concise database textbooks, this new text offers the follow-
ing advantages:
• It is built on the strong foundation and extensive development process of a lead-
ing textbook (Modern Database Management), ensuring state-of-the-art coverage of
the core database management topics.
• It strives to maintain conceptual rigor in all of its coverage.
• It provides a sharp focus on the integrated database development cycle.
• It features tools and technologies targeted for professional designers and develop-
ers (instead of focusing on the end user).
• It offers a large number of field-tested review and practice materials at various
levels of difficulty.
• It is informed by many years of teaching experience at a variety of universities
and involvement in leading industry and curriculum groups by the authors.
The courses that can benefit from this book are typically required as part of infor-
mation systems or information technology curricula in business schools, schools of
information, computer technology programs, and applied computer science depart-
ments. The Association for Information Systems (AIS), the Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM), and the International Federation of Information Processing Societies
(IFIPS) curriculum guidelines all outline this type of database management course. For
example, the coverage of Essentials of Database Management is sufficient for a great major-
ity of the core database requirements suggested in IS 20101, the latest information systems
undergraduate model curriculum. In addition to the majors in four-year undergraduate
programs, this text can serve a number of additional audiences from information and
computer technology programs at community colleges to data management modules
in foundation courses in graduate programs. As discussed above, it will also serve well
those non-IS majors whose interests are related to the broader area of information utiliza-
tion. For example, this text would form an excellent foundation for a data management
course targeted to business analytics students at either undergraduate or graduate level.

1
Topi, Heikki; Valacich, Joseph S.; Wright, Ryan T.; Kaiser, Kate; Nunamaker, Jr., Jay F.; Sipior, Janice C.; and de
Vreede, Gert Jan (2010) “IS 2010: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information
Systems,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 26, Article 18.
xix
xx Preface

The Key Strengths Of Essentials Of Database Management

• One of our goals is to lead other books in coverage of the latest principles, con-
cepts, and technologies. Our experience and expertise from Modern Database
Management gives this text a strong foundation starting with this first edition. We
believe in the value of systematic, thorough, and detailed coverage of the key top-
ics, and this book implements this principle fully. The core database development
cycle content is offered with a foundational description of the database environ-
ment and a number of contextual topics that are essential for the management
of organizational data, such as database development for Internet-based applica-
tions, modern data warehousing concepts, and new infrastructure technologies
(such as cloud computing).
• This text focuses on what leading practitioners say is most important for database
developers and savvy database users. We work with many practitioners, includ-
ing the professionals of the Data Management Association (DAMA) and The Data
Warehousing Institute (TDWI), leading consultants, technology leaders, and au-
thors of articles in the most widely read professional publications. We draw on
these experts to ensure that what the book includes is important and covers not
only important entry-level knowledge and skills, but also those fundamentals and
mindsets that lead to long-term career success.
• We present the material in a way that students find highly accessible and effective
from the perspective of supporting their learning. The content, review questions,
and problems and exercises in this book benefit directly from MDM’s continuous
market feedback for 30 years. Overall, the pedagogy of the book is sound. We use
many illustrations that help to make important concepts and techniques clear.
We use the most modern notations. The organization of the book is flexible, so
you can use chapters in whatever sequence makes sense for your students. We
supplement the book with data sets to facilitate hands-on, practical learning, and
with new media resources to make some of the more challenging topics more
engaging.
• You may have particular interest in introducing SQL early in your course.
Our text can accommodate this. First, we cover SQL in depth, devoting two
full chapters to this core technology of the database field. Second, we include
many SQL examples in early chapters. Third, many instructors have success-
fully used the two SQL chapters early in their course. Although logically ap-
pearing in the life cycle of systems development as Chapters 6 and 7, part
of the implementation section of the text, many instructors have used these
chapters immediately after Chapter 1 or in parallel with other early chapters.
Finally, we use SQL throughout the book, for example, to illustrate Web ap-
plication connections to relational databases in Chapter 8 and online analytical
processing in Chapter 9.
• We have the latest in supplements and Web site support for the text. See the
supplement package for details on all the resources available to you and your
students.
• This text is written to be part of a modern information systems curriculum
with a strong business systems development focus. Topics are included and ad-
dressed so as to reinforce principles from other typical courses, such as sys-
tems analysis and design, networking, Web site design and development, MIS
principles, and computer programming. Emphasis is on the development of
the database component of modern information systems and on the manage-
ment of the data resource. Thus, the text is practical, supports projects and other
hands-on class activities, and encourages linking database concepts to concepts
being learned throughout the curriculum the student is taking. Two of the au-
thors of this text have served in leadership roles in the development of global
information systems model curricula at both undergraduate and graduate lev-
els, and they have been able to incorporate this broad curriculum understand-
ing in this textbook.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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Attract all evil things; putrid and black
It mingles with the clear and stainless sea.
So into pure eternity my soul
Will disembogue itself.
Good men have said
That sometimes God leaves sinners to their sin,—
He has left me to mine, and I am changed;
My worst part is insurgent, and my will
Is weak and powerless as a trembling king
When millions rise up hungry. Woe is me!
My soul breeds sins as a dead body worms!
They swarm and feed upon me. Hear me, God!
Sin met me and embraced me on my way;
Methought her cheeks were red, her lips had bloom;
I kissed her bold lips, dallied with her hair:
She sang me into slumber. I awoke—
It was a putrid corse that clung to me,
That clings to me like memory to the damned,
That rots into my being. Father! God!
I cannot shake it off, it clings, it clings;—
I soon will grow as corrupt as itself. [A pause.
God sends me back my prayers, as a father
Returns unoped the letters of a son
Who has dishonoured him.
Have mercy, Fiend!
Thou Devil, thou wilt drag me down to hell.
Oh, if she had proclivity to sin
Who did appear so beauteous and so pure,
Nature may leer behind a gracious mask.
And God himself may be——I'm giddy, blind,
The world reels from beneath me.
[Catches hold of the parapet.
(An outcast approaches.) Wilt pray for me?
GIRL (shuddering).
'Tis a dreadful thing to pray.

WALTER.

Why is it so?
Hast thou, like me, a spot upon thy soul
That neither tears can cleanse nor fires eterne?

GIRL.

But few request my prayers.

WALTER.

I request them.
For ne'er did a dishevelled woman cling
So earnest-pale to a stern conqueror's knees,
Pleading for a dear life, as did my prayer
Cling to the knees of God. He shook it off,
And went upon His way. Wilt pray for me?

GIRL.

Sin crusts me o'er as limpets crust the rocks.

I would be thrust from ev'ry human door;
I dare not knock at heaven's.

WALTER.

Poor homeless one!

There is a door stands wide for thee and me—
The door of hell. Methinks we are well met.
I saw a little girl three years ago,
With eyes of azure and with cheeks of red,
A crowd of sunbeams hanging down her face;
Sweet laughter round her; dancing like a breeze.
I'd rather lair me with a fiend in fire
Than look on such a face as hers to-night.
But I can look on thee, and such as thee;
I'll call thee "Sister;" do thou call me "Brother."
A thousand years hence, when we both are damned,
We'll sit like ghosts upon the wailing shore,
And read our lives by the red light of hell.
Shall we not, Sister?
GIRL.

O thou strange, wild man!

Let me alone: what would you seek with me?

WALTER.

Your ear, my Sister. I have that within

Which urges me to utterance. I could accost
A pensive angel, singing to himself
Upon a hill in heaven, and leave his mind
As dark and turbid as a trampled pool,
To purify at leisure.—I have none
To listen to me, save a sinful woman
Upon a midnight bridge.—She was so fair,
God's eye could rest with pleasure on her face.
Oh, God, she was so happy! Her short life,
As full of music as the crowded June
Of an unfallen orb. What is it now?
She gave me her young heart, full, full of love:
My return—was to break it. Worse, far worse;
I crept into the chambers of her soul,
Like a foul toad, polluting as I went.

GIRL.

I pity her—not you. Man trusts in God;

He is eternal. Woman trusts in man,
And he is shifting sand.
WALTER.

Poor child, poor child!

We sat in dreadful silence with our sin,
Looking each other wildly in the eyes:
Methought I heard the gates of heaven close,
She flung herself against me, burst in tears,
As a wave bursts in spray. She covered me
With her wild sorrow, as an April cloud
With dim dishevelled tresses hides the hill
On which its heart is breaking. She clung to me
With piteous arms, and shook me with her sobs,
For she had lost her world, her heaven, her God,
And now had nought but me and her great wrong.
She did not kill me with a single word,
But once she lifted her tear-dabbled face—
Had hell gaped at my feet I would have leapt
Into its burning throat, from that pale look.
Still it pursues me like a haunting fiend:
It drives me out to the black moors at night,
Where I am smitten by the hissing rain,
And ruffian winds, dislodging from their troops,
Hustle me shrieking, then with sudden turn
Go laughing to their fellows. Merciful God!
It comes—that face again, that white, white face,
Set in a night of hair; reproachful eyes,
That make me mad. Oh, save me from those eyes!
They will torment me even in the grave,
And burn on me in Tophet.

GIRL.

Where are you going?

WALTER.
My heart's on fire by hell, and on I drive
To outer blackness, like a blazing ship.
[He rushes away.

SCENE XI.
Night.—Walter, standing alone in his garden.
WALTER.

Summer hath murmured with her leafy lips

Around my home, and I have heard her not;
I've missed the process of three several years,
From shaking wind-flowers to the tarnished gold
That rustles sere on Autumn's aged boughs.
I went three years ago, and now return,
As stag sore-hunted a long summer day
Creeps in the eve to its deep forest-home. [A pause.
This is my home again! Once more I hail
The dear old gables and the creaking vanes.
It stands all flecked with shadows in the moon,
Patient, and white, and woeful. 'Tis so still,
It seems to brood upon its youthful years,
When children sported on its ringing floors,
And music trembled through its happy rooms.
'Twas here I spent my youth, as far removed
From the great heavings, hopes, and fears of man,
As unknown isle asleep in unknown seas.
Gone my pure heart, and with it happy days;
No manna falls around me from on high,
Barely from off the desert of my life
I gather patience and severe content.
God is a worker. He has thickly strewn
Infinity with grandeur. God is Love;
He yet will wipe away Creation's tears,
And all the worlds shall summer in His smile.
Why work I not? The veriest mote that sports
Its one-day life within the sunny beam
Has its stern duties. Wherefore have I none?
I will throw off this dead and useless past,
As a strong runner, straining for his life,
Unclasps a mantle to the hungry winds.
A mighty purpose rises large and slow
From out the fluctuations of my soul,
As, ghost-like, from the dim and tumbling sea
Starts the completed moon. [Another pause.
I have a heart to dare,
And spirit-thews to work my daring out;
I'll cleave the world as a swimmer cleaves the sea,
Breaking the sleek green billows into froth,
With tilting full-blown chest, and scattering
With scornful breath the kissing, flattering foam,
That leaps and dallies with his dipping lip.
Thou'rt distant, now, O World! I hear thee not;
No pallid fringes of thy fires to-night
Droop round the large horizon. Yet, O World!
I have thee in my power, and as a man
By some mysterious influence can sway
Another's mind, making him laugh and weep,
Shudder or thrill, such power have I on thee.
Much have I suffered, both from thee and thine;
Thou shalt not 'scape me, World! I'll make thee weep;
I'll make my lone thought cross thee like a spirit,
And blanch thy braggart cheeks, lift up thy hair,
And make thy great knees tremble; I will send
Across thy soul dark herds of demon dreams,
And make thee toss and moan in troubled sleep;
And, waking, I will fill thy forlorn heart
With pure and happy thoughts, as summer woods
Are full of singing-birds. I come from far,
I'll rest myself, O World! awhile on thee,
And half in earnest, half in jest, I'll cut
My name upon thee, pass the arch of Death,
Then on a stair of stars go up to God.

SCENE XII.
An Apartment—Charles and Edward seated.
EDWARD.

Have you seen Walter lately?

CHARLES.

Very much;
I wintered with him.

EDWARD.

What was he about?

CHARLES.

He wrote his Poem then.

EDWARD.

That was a hit!

The world is murmuring like a hive of bees:
He is its theme—to-morrow it may change.
Was it done at a dash?

CHARLES.
 It was; each word sincere,
As blood-drops from the heart. The full-faced moon,
Set round with stars, in at his casement looked,
And saw him write and write: and when the moon
Was waning dim upon the edge of morn,
Still sat he writing, thoughtful-eyed and pale;
And, as of yore, round his white temples reeled
His golden hair, in ringlets beautiful.
Great joy he had, for thought came glad and thick
As leaves upon a tree in primrose-time;
And as he wrote, his task the lovelier grew,
Like April unto May, or as a child,
A-smile in the lap of life, by fine degrees
Orbs to a maiden, walking with meek eyes
In atmosphere of beauty round her breathed.
He wrote all winter in an olden room,
Hallowed with glooms and books. Priests who have wed
Their makers unto Fame, Moons that have shed
Eternal halos around England's head;
Books dusky and thumbed without, within, a sphere
Smelling of Spring, as genial, fresh, and clear,
And beautiful, as is the rainbowed air
After May showers. Within this pleasant lair
He passed in writing all the winter moons;
But when May came, with train of sunny noons,
He chose a leafy summer-house within
The greenest nook in all his garden green;
Oft a fine thought would flush his face divine,
As he had quaffed a cup of olden wine,
Which deifies the drinker: oft his face
Gleamed like a spirit's in that shady place,
While he saw, smiling upward from the scroll,
The image of the thought within his soul;
There, 'mid the waving shadows of the trees,
'Mong garden-odours and the hum of bees,
He wrote the last and closing passages.
He is not happy.
EDWARD.

Has he told you so?

CHARLES.

Not in plain terms. Oft an unhappy thought,

Telling all is not well, falls from his soul
Like a diseasèd feather from the wing
Of a sick eagle; a scorched meteor-stone
Dropt from the ruined moon.

EDWARD.

What are these thoughts?

CHARLES.

I walked with him upon a windy night;

We saw the streaming moon flee through the sky,
Pursued by all the dark and hungry clouds.
He stopped and said: "Weariness feeds on all.
God wearies, and so makes a universe,
And gathers angels round him.—He is weak;
I weary, and so wreak myself in verse,——
Away with scrannel-pipes. Oh, for mad War!
I'd give my next twelve years to head but once
Ten thousand horse in a victorious charge.
Give me some one to hate, and let me chase
Him through the zones, and finding him at last,
Make his accursed eyes leap on his cheeks,
And his face blacken, with one choking gripe."

EDWARD.
 Savage enough, i' faith!

CHARLES.

He often said,
His strivings after Poesy and Fame
Were vain as turning blind eyes on the sun.
His Book came out; I told him that the world
Hailed him a Poet. He said, with feeble smile,
"I have arisen like a dawn—the world,
Like the touched Memnon, murmurs—that is all."
He said, as we were lying on the moss,
(A forest sounding o'er us, like a sea
Above two mermen seated on the sands,)
"Our human hearts are deeper than our souls,
And Love than Knowledge is diviner food—
Oh, Charles! if God will ever send to thee
A heart that loves thee, reverence that heart.
We think that Death is hard, when he can kill
An infant smiling in his very face:
Harder was I than Death.—In cup of sin
I did dissolve thee, thou most precious pearl,
Then drank thee up." We sat one eve,
Gazing in silence on the falling sun:
We saw him sink. Upon the silent world,
Like a fine veil, came down the tender gloom;
A dove came fluttering round the window, flew
Away, and then came fluttering back. He said,
"As that dove flutters round the casement, comes
A pale shape round my soul; I've done it wrong,
I never will be happy till I ope
My heart and take it in."—'Twas ever so;
To some strange sorrow all his thoughts did tend,
Like waves unto a shore. Dost know his grief?

EDWARD.
I dimly guess it; a rich cheek grew pale,
A happy spirit singing on her way
Grew mute as winter. Walter, mad and blind,
Threw off the world, God, unclasped loving arms,
Rushed wild through Pleasure and through Devil-world,
Till he fell down exhausted.—Do you know
If he believes in God?

CHARLES.

He told me once,
The saddest thing that can befall a soul
Is when it loses faith in God and Woman;
For he had lost them both. Lost I those gems—
Though the world's throne stood empty in my path,
I would go wandering back into my childhood,
Searching for them with tears.

EDWARD.

Let him go
Alone upon his waste and dreary road,
He will return to the old faith he learned
Beside his mother's knee. That memory
That haunts him, as the sweet and gracious moon
Haunts the poor outcast Earth, will lead him back
To happiness and God.

CHARLES.

May it be so!

SCENE XIII.
 Afternoon.—Walter and Violet entering the garden from the house.
VIOLET.

This is the dwelling you have told me of,—

Summer again hath dressed its bloomy walls,
Its fragrant front is populous with bees;
This is the garden—all is very like,
And yet unlike the picture in my heart;
I know not which is loveliest. I see
Afar the wandering beauty of the stream,
And nearer I can trace it as it shows
Its broad and gleaming back among the woods.
Is that the wood you slept in?

WALTER.

That is it.
And every nook and glade and tangled dell,
From its wide circle to its leafy heart,
Is as familiar to me as my soul.
Memories dwell like doves among the trees,
Like nymphs in glooms, like naïads in the wells;
And some are sweet, and sadder some than death.
[A pause.
I could have sworn the world did sing in air,
I was so happy once. The eagle drinks
The keen blue morning, and the morn was mine.
I bathed in sunset, and to me the night
Was a perpetual wonder and an awe.
Oft, as I lay on earth and gazed at her,
The gliding moon with influence divine
Would draw a most delicious tide of tears
And spill it o'er my eyes. Sadness was joy
Of but another sort. My happiness
Was flecked with vague and transitory griefs,
As sweetly as the shining length of June
With evanescent eves; and through my soul
At intervals a regal pageant passed,
As through the palpitating streets the corse
Of a great chieftain, rolled in music rich,
Moves slow towards its rest. In these young days
Existence was to me sufficient joy;
At once a throne and kingdom, crown and lyre.
Now it is but a strip of barren sand,
On which with earnest heart I strive to rear
A temple to the Gods. I will not sadden you.
[They move on.
This is the fountain: once it flashed and sang
(Possessed of such exuberance of joy)
To golden sunrise, the blue day, and when
The night grew gradual o'er it, star by star,—
Now it is mute as Memnon.
VIOLET.

Sad again!
Its brim is written over—o'er and o'er;
'Tis mute; but have you made its marble lips
As sweet as Music's?

WALTER.

Miserable words!
The offspring of some most unhappy hours.
To me this fountain's brim is sad as though
'Twere splashed with my own blood.

VIOLET (reads).

"Nature cares not

Although her loveliness should ne'er be seen
By human eyes, nor praised by human tongues.
The cataract exults among the hills,
And wears its crown of rainbows all alone.
Libel the ocean on his tawny sands,
Write verses in his praise,—the unmoved sea
Erases both alike. Alas for man!
Unless his fellows can behold his deeds
He cares not to be great." 'Tis very true.
The next is written in a languid hand:
"Sin hath drunk up my pleasure, as eclipse
Drinks up the sunlight. On my spirit lies
A malison and ban. What though the Spring
Makes all the hills and valleys laugh in green,—
Is the sea healed, or is the plover's cry
Merry upon the moor? I now am kin
To these, and winds, and ever-suffering things."
Oh, I could blot these words out with my tears!
WALTER.

So could I when I wrote them.

VIOLET.

What is next?
"A sin lies dead and dreadful in my soul,
Why should I gaze upon it day by day?
Oh, rather, since it cannot be destroyed,
Let me as reverently cover it
As with a cloth we cover up the dead,
And place it in some chamber of my soul,
Where it may lie unseen as sound, yet felt,—
Making life hushed and awful."

WALTER.

No more. No more.
Let God wash out this record with His rain!
This is the summer-house. [They enter.
It is as sweet
As if enamoured Summer did adorn
It for his Love to dwell in. I love to sit
And hear the pattering footsteps of the shower,
As he runs over it, or watch at noon
The curious sunbeams peeping through the leaves.
VIOLET.

I've always pictured you in such a place

Writing your Book, and hurrying on, as if
You had a long and wondrous tale to tell,
And felt Death's cold hand closing round your heart.

WALTER.

Have you read my Book?

VIOLET.

I have.

WALTER.

It is enough.
The Book was only written for two souls,
And they are thine and mine.

VIOLET.

For many weeks,

When I was dwelling by the moaning sea,
Your name was blown to me on ev'ry wind,
And I was glad; for by that sign I knew
You had fulfilled your heart, and hoped you would
Put off the robes of sorrow, and put on
The singing crown of Fame. One dreary morn
Your Book came to me, and I fondled it,
As though it were a pigeon sent from thee
With love beneath its wing. I read and read
Until the sun lifted his cloudy lids
And shot wild light along the leaping deep,
Then closed his eyes in death. I shed no tear,
I laid it down in silence, and went forth
Burdened with its sad thoughts: slowly I went;
And, as I wandered through the deepening gloom,
I saw the pale and penitential moon
Rise from dark waves that plucked at her, and go
Sorrowful up the sky. Then gushed my tears—
The tangled problem of my life was plain—
I cried aloud, "Oh, would he come to me!
I know he is unhappy; that he strives
As fiercely as that blind and desperate sea,
Clutching with all its waves—in vain, in vain.
He never will be happy till he comes."
As I went home the thought that you would come
Filled my lorn heart with gladness, as the moon
Filled the great vacant night with moonlight, till
Its silver bliss ran o'er—so after prayer
I slept in the lap of peace—next morn you came.
WALTER.

And then I found you beautiful and pale—

Pale as that moonlight night! O Violet,
I have been undeceived. In my hot youth
I kissed the painted bloom off Pleasure's lips
And found them pale as Pain's,—and wept aloud.
Never henceforward can I hope to drain
The rapture of a lifetime at a gulp.
My happiness is not a troubled joy;
'Tis deep, serene as death. The sweet contents,
The happy thoughts from which I've been estranged,
Again come round me, as the old known peers
Surround and welcome a repentant spirit,
Who by the steps of sorrow hath regained
His throne and golden prime. The eve draws nigh!
The prosperous sun is in the west, and sees
From the pale east to where he sets in bliss,
His long road glorious. Wilt thou sing, my love,
And sadden me into a deeper joy?
Violet sings.

The wondrous ages pass like rushing waves,

Each crowned with its own foam. Bards die, and Fame
Hangs like a pallid meteor o'er their graves.
Religions change, and come and go like flame.

Nothing remains but Love, the world's round mass

It doth pervade, all forms of life it shares,
The institutions that like moments pass
Are but the shapes the masking spirit wears.

Love is a sanctifier; 'tis a moon,

Turning each dusk to silver. A pure light,
Redeemer of all errors——
[Ceases, and bursts into tears.

WALTER.

What ails you, Violet?

Has music stung you like a very snake?
Why do you weep?

VIOLET.

Walter! dost thou believe

Love will redeem all errors? Oh, my friend,
This gospel saves you! doubt it, you are lost.
Deep in the mists of sorrow long I lay,
Hopeless and still, when suddenly this truth
Like a slant sunbeam quivered through the mist,
And turned it into radiance. In the light
I wrote these words, while you were far away
Fighting with shadows. Oh! Walter, in one boat
We floated o'er the smooth, moon-silvered sea;
The sky was smiling with its orbs of bliss;
And while we lived within each other's eyes,
We struck and split, and all the world was lost
In one wild whirl of horror darkening down;
At last I gained a deep and silent isle,
Moaned on by a dim sea, and wandered round,
Week after week, the happy-mournful shore,
Wond'ring if you had 'scaped.
WALTER.

Thou noble soul,

Teach me, for thou art nearer God than I!
My life was a long dream; when I awoke,
Duty stood like an angel in my path,
And seemed so terrible, I could have turned
Into my yesterdays, and wandered back
To distant childhood, and gone out to God
By the gate of birth, not death. Lift, lift me up
By thy sweet inspiration, as the tide
Lifts up a stranded boat upon the beach.
I will go forth 'mong men, not mailed in scorn,
But in the armour of a pure intent.
Great duties are before me and great songs,
And whether crowned or crownless, when I fall
It matters not, so that God's work is done.
I've learned to prize the quiet lightning-deed,
Not the applauding thunder at its heels
Which men call Fame. Our night is past;
We stand in precious sunrise, and beyond
A long day stretches to the very end.
Look out, my beautiful, upon the sky!
Even puts on her jewels. Look! she sets,
Venus upon her brow. I never gaze
Upon the evening but a tide of awe,
And love, and wonder, from the Infinite,
Swells up within me, as the running brine
From the smooth-glistening, wide-heaving sea,
Grows in the creeks and channels of a stream
Until it threats its banks. It is not joy,
'Tis sadness more divine.
VIOLET.

How quick they come,—

World after world! See the great moon above
Yon undistinguishable clump of trees
Is slowly from the darkness gathering light!
You used to love the moon!

WALTER.

This mournful wind

Has surely been with Winter, 'tis so cold;
The dews are falling, Violet! Your cloak—
Draw it around you. Let the still night shine!
A star's a cold thing to a human heart,
And love is better than their radiance. Come!
Let us go in together.
 AN EVENING AT HOME.
To-day a chief was buried—let him rest.
His country's bards are up like larks, and fill
With singing the wide heavens of his fame.
To-night I sit within my lonely room,
The atmosphere is full of misty rain,
Wretched the earth and heaven. Yesterday
The streets and squares were choked with yellow fogs,
To-morrow we may all be drenched in sleet!
Stretched like a homeless beggar on the ground,
The city sleeps amid the misty rain.
Though Rain hath pitched his tent above my head,
'Tis but a speck upon the happy world.
Since I've begun to trace these lines, Sunrise
Has struck a land and woke its bleating hills;
Afar upon some black and silent moor
The crystal stars are shaking in the wind;
An ocean gurgles, for the stooping moon
Hath kissed him into peace, and now she smooths
The well-pleased monster with her silver hand.
Come, naked, gleaming Spring! great crowds of larks
Fluttering above thy head, thy happy ears
Loud with their ringing songs, Bright Saviour, come!
And kill old Winter with thy glorious look,
And turn his corse to flowers!

I sit to-night
As dreary as the pale, deserted East,
That sees the Sun, the Sun that once was hers,
Forgetful of her, flattering his new love,
The happy-blushing West. In these long streets
Of traffic and of noise, the human hearts
Are hard and loveless as a wreck-strewn coast.
Eternity doth wear upon her face
The veil of Time. They only see the veil,
And thus they know not what they stand so near.
Oh, rich in gold! Beggars in heart and soul!
Poor as the empty void! Why, even I,
Sitting in this bare chamber with my thoughts,
Am richer than ye all, despite your bales,
Your streets of warehouses, your mighty mills,
Each booming like a world faint heard in space:
Your ships; unwilling fires, that day and night
Writhe in your service seven years, then die
Without one taste of peace. Do ye believe
A simple primrose on a grassy bank
Forth-peeping to the sun, a wild bird's nest,
The great orb dying in a ring of clouds,
Like hoary Jacob 'mong his waiting sons;
The rising moon, and the young stars of God,
Are things to love? With these my soul is brimmed;
With a diviner and serener joy
Then all thy heaven of money-bags can bring
Thy dry heart, Worldling!

The terror-stricken rain

Flings itself wildly on the window-panes,
Imploring shelter from the chasing wind.
Alas! to-night in this wide waste of streets
It beats on human limbs as well as walls!
God led Eve forth into the empty world
From Paradise. Could our great Mother come
And see her children now, what sight were worst;
A worker woke by cruel Day, the while
A kind dream feeds with sweetest phantom-bread,
Him, and his famished ones; or when the Wind,
With shuddering fingers, draws the veil of smoke,
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